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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24744046">Eternity, love and pain</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnastasiaKars/pseuds/AnastasiaKars'>AnastasiaKars</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>SCP Foundation</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Agent Strelnikov, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Becoming A Hero, Bisexual Female Character, Blood and Violence, Denial of Feelings, Devotion, Dorks in Love, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, Feelings Realization, Female Friendship, Immortality, Isolation, Light Masochism, Love/Hate, Made For Each Other, Nicknames, OC also have powers, OC is a Captain of OMEGA-7, Out of Character, Plot Twists, Psychology, SCP-083, SCP-336 - Freeform, SCP-343, Suicidal Thoughts, True Love, Uneasy Allies, divine beings, mtf, nonlinear storytelling, they closest enemies</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-04-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 04:26:45</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>10,888</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24744046</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnastasiaKars/pseuds/AnastasiaKars</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
      <p>"To love is not to look at one another, it is to look, together, in the same direction"<br/>© Antoine de Saint-Exupéry</p>
    </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>SCP-076 (SCP Foundation)/Original Character(s), SCP-105/Original Character(s)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>14</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. The personal file of Agent Emily "Undying"</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>"To love is not to look at one another, it is to look, together, in the same direction"<br/>© Antoine de Saint-Exupéry</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Name: Agent Emily "Undying" ████████.<br/>
Codename: -<br/>
Access level: in the work area - 4, outside - unknown.<br/>
Location of the research center: ██████ ███████████ ██.<br/>
Brief description: Senior employee of the organization with the post ███████████. It is distinguished by its ability to almost instantly regenerate cells. She has a very complex character, sometimes it becomes very rude and hursh, but at the same time she remains an alert and responsible employee; constantly trying to find a common language with both objects. Shows interest in studying weapons, as well as the rest of SCP objects. In his free time, she trains with the SCP-076 and operatives, communicates with the staff and reads (genres of books are completely different), if someone need for her abilities outside the center of her work, she agrees to help with pleasure. She has been working for quite a long time and has gained authority among both other agents and operatives, gets along well with SCP-105 and often, as she claims, talks with a girl so that she is not completely bored and lonely. With SCP-076-2 she had problems for a while: object [DATA EXPUNGED]. He was surprised by the fact that he had a slightly more worthy opponent, and then he lost interest in it, became calmer, stopping provoking conflicts with the agent Emily and other staff, which significantly improved their working conditions. All missions that were assigned to OMEGA-7 since the introduction of Agent Emily were completed successfully and on time, not counting the most urgent situations.<br/>
<br/>
History: After many incidents involving [DATA EXPUNGED], Dr. Kondraki decided to take measures to restrain the wrath of SCP-076-2, or at least protect its personnel. Agent ████████ was chosen for this, voluntarily agreeing to experiment and collaborate. Using SCP-███, in agent was added a gene of self-healing that is ███████████ for approximately two months. At this time, the agent was in a state similar to a coma.<br/>
<br/>
More about agent ability testing:<br/>
<br/>
Experiment 1: Shot by Dr. Kondraki in ██████ agent from the █████ revolver with █████-caliber cartridges. Agent Emily is conscious.<br/>
<br/>
Result: Despite the shock of Emily herself, her body began to erupt a foreign object, ██████████ of him from ██████. The agent’s blood literally returned to the body, simultaneously restoring the damaged area.<br/>
<br/>
***<br/>
<br/>
Experiment 2: Agent's Food Poisoned ████████ █████.<br/>
<br/>
Result: After eating a small amount of food, the agent began [DATA EXPUNGED]. After ten minutes, the symptoms stopped and Emily's body stabilized.<br/>
<br/>
***<br/>
<br/>
Experiment 3: The agent is placed in a capsule from which oxygen was pumped out.<br/>
<br/>
Result: [DATA EXPUNGED]. It is recommended to pay attention to this incident.<br/>
<br/>
***<br/>
<br/>
Experiment 4: [DATA EXPUNGED]<br/>
<br/>
Result: [DATA EXPUNGED]<br/>
<br/>
***<br/>
<br/>
Agent received additional training to to get a position ███████████ of department, participated in several missions, and significantly improved her physical condition on the recommendation of Dr. █████████. Agent Emily was introduced to everything related to the Pandora's Box Project, SCP-076-1 and SCP-076-2, with information regarding SCP-105 that she "had already seen somewhere." The nickname "Undying" was given to her by Dr. Kondraki himself, as well as by numerous other employees, including Dr. ████ and Professor Crow. The agent did not express her dissatisfaction and even supported the idea of introducing her nickname into a private matter.<br/>
<br/>
Note: SCP-076-2 selected Agent Emily as his new assistant.<br/>
<br/>
Note 2: A suggestion of experiments involving the agent and SCP-076-2 is under consideration. See Incident "The Abel - Undying" for more info.<br/>
<br/>
Additional notes:<br/>
<br/>
"Why has no one added here so far that you can use it to test the sexual abilities of objects? That would be useful" - anonymous.<br/>
<br/>
"Just one more joke about this incident, and I will take appropriate action" - Dr. Kondraki.<br/>
<br/>
"That would be quite interesting... scientifically" - Dr. Goodby.<br/>
<br/>
“I bet that his “brother” will be next. I bet!” - Agent Brody.<br/>
<br/>
"If anyone else writes a word on my file, I swear I'll take off "collar" from zero-seven-six!, ███████!" - Agent Emily.<br/>
<br/>
“I remind you that violation of the conditions of detention is punishable, agent.” - Professor Crow.<br/>
<br/>
"There seems to be an article about them in "Herald SCP"..." - anonymous.<br/>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Mission - "Hold"</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Emily walked with the rest of the security forces and Dr. Kondraki, who, as if knowing for sure, told her that today would be the last test for her.<br/>
</p><p>"Caution! Violation of SCP-076-2's containment conditions! Order to all personnel - to urgently proceed to the escape route!"<br/>
</p><p>"Oh, damn you, such a feeling, Kondraki, that you yourself somehow provoked it!" - the agent sighed heavily and put on her helmet, adjusting the walkie-talkie.<br/>
</p><p>Doctor just grinned and adjusted his glasses, accelerating the step to the entrance to the bunker.<br/>
</p><p>“Your task is to hold this as far from the shelter as possible and, if possible, let the other agents and doctors escape”<br/>
</p><p>He suddenly stopped in front of the intersection and indicated the direction to the girl, but sent the security officers along a detour, probably so that they pressed the object from the back.<br/>
</p><p>“Well, good luck,” - Emily shrugged, grunted, and went the other way,- “Don’t die...” - the man shouted with a grin and hurried to a safe place.<br/>
</p><p>"Ha ha ha ... oh, how much he annoys me," - the agent thought to herself and slowly began to step forward, trying to  listening, which was very hard by the sound of a siren.</p><p>In the corridors, the lights went out and red lamps began to blink, which meant only one thing - the situation was worse and there was a need to fix it sooner, otherwise she would die, along with him and the rest of the poor people who were in such a situation.</p><p>She reached a crossroads and tried to hear at least something, she was lucky: quiet sobs from somewhere on the left immediately made her move in that direction. Unfortunately, she was already late because she saw a human in front of her, as far as she understood, a woman with a crushed head, from which Emily snorted.</p><p><em>“Muck,”</em> - she looked up from the corpse and saw the perpetrator of the violation.</p><p>A dark long-haired man with dark skin, completely covered with some kind of symbols or tattoo, in strange clothes and with a sword in his hands. With a sword, this was what was most important and basic&gt;

 <em>"A sword, then - for a short range, what can he do against my bullets?"</em>

</p><p>"And here is another, human spawn, also wanted to die?!" - He frowned and took a few steps toward the agent, immediately hearing the sounds of multiple shots.</p><p>Emily looked in shock at the bullets lying on the floor. Not a single one hit the target, he hit every one with a sword, lucky that it did not bounce.</p><p><em>"What is his speed?!"</em> - she immediately doubted her strength, because the girl clearly did not expect such a turn.</p><p>The man laughed in response to such actions and crossed his arms over his chest, dropping his sword, which immediately disappeared.</p><p>“So you don't know anything about my abilities? It's funny, then I can do without a weapon, punch you with my hand will not be a particular problem, right?" - he smiled smugly and moved towards the agent.

</p>
<p><em>“Damn,”</em> - she slowly began to backtrack, - <em>“and what should I do now? How can I keep him? Just surrendering to him for tearing to pieces? He willn't be able to kill me"</em></p><p>"Well, you saw the ability of the enemy and immediately run?!" - he jerked toward the agent and nailed her neck to the wall.</p><p>She little screamed and grabbed his hand, trying to get rid of the strangulation, but in vain, and the Uzi-Pistol fell out of her hands and was thrown aside by the object. The man was stronger and with all his appearance showed his superiority. In every gesture and in every note of the voice, complete superiority sounded.</p><p>“It's nice, what a drama,” - he squeezed her neck harder through her uniform, as if without feeling the layers of it, - “they sent the fresh blood to their rescue, thinking that you could do something against me...” -  he licked his lips and materialized in a sword in his hand, which the agent managed to notice from her last strength, and then pierced her with him, holding the hilt and chuckling softly.</p><p>Girl coughed, opening her eyes wide from the cutting scorching abdominal pain, but after a few seconds she sighed, feeling warmth all over her body, and grinned as if nothing had happened.</p><p> The object, in surprise, arched an eyebrow and stared at the victim, not understanding what was happening now and why soldier was still alive.</p><p>"What's so funny?" - man said quietly, letting go of the girl's throat.</p><p>"Ah? Ah, you don’t know my abilities, ha ha ha,” - she coughed and took a deep breath, - “decided to go for a beginner, not even knowing his abilities and thinking that you can do something against me, right?” - she laughed and the object angrily ripped off her helmet to understand what was happening.</p><p>He frowned and snorted in displeasure, letting go of the sword, which immediately disappeared, dropping the agent’s limp body to the floor.</p><p>“You are only a woman! Why aren't you dead yet?' - he grinned and noticed a wide grin on her lips. - "Don't dare to behave like that with me!" - He lifted her waist and looked down at the wound, from which there was only a hole in the form.</p><p><em>"Who the hell is she?!"</em> - he began to noticeably nervous, and this only amused Emily more.</p><p>
  <em>"Damn, you have to take time before the guys come, I alone hardly can destroy it...i hope it turns out..."</em><br/>
</p><p>"What are you hiding under the uniform? Something that heals you?!" - he began to tear a hole on uniform, trying to understand what had happened and finish it, but there was nothing under the fabric, not even blood, only skin.</p><p>
  <em>"That's why she doesn’t need a bulletproof vest... she’s just a regenerator, I saw how he wounded her, it couldn’t be just a mistake... or... I can’t understand, i can only find out in one way"</em>
</p><p>Object tried to pull the agent’s knife, but she grabbed his hand and yanked at it with all its force, forcing it to fall to the floor. She herself wanted to jump, but the reaction of the object was much better, so he grabbed her uniform sleeve and dragged her back.</p><p>Girl heard a quiet laugh and tried to escape, remembering at the same time that she still had a gun, not to mention a few grenades, but using them was risky. The man pressed her hands to the floor of one of his own as if they were the heaviest shackles in the world, and Emily's legs were pressed by his knees.</p><p>“You will not budge...” - he said slowly and brought the sword up again.</p><p>“Hah, whatever you say...” - she smirked and looked up at the ceiling.</p><p>In seconds, he cut her body in half.</p><p>Emily's eyes twitched for a moment, like her lips, and then the man saw her body begin to grow together... more precisely, the blood returned back to the body, splicing its chopped parts.</p><p>“So the regenerator, everything is clear, munus*,” - she only grinned and heard the stamping of feet coming from one of the corridors.</p><p>“Sorry, my mission was to <em>"hold"</em>, not kill...'” - she smirked slyly and looked straight into the eyes of the object, forcing him to do the same.</p><p>“Finally, a worthy creature, it will be interesting to know whether it is possible to kill her at all... very interesting,” - he rose to his feet, releasing Emily's body.</p><p>"My name is Abel, remember this name, and yours..."</p><p>“Emily, but why do you need my name?” -  the OMEGA-7 squad appeared behind her.</p><p>"Freeze, the zero-seven-six!" - shouted one of the security officials.</p><p>“Probably, to call you by your name when you become worthy of it,” - he managed a laugh and noticed how several more troops surrounded him from all sides, - “and now... I have to fight these scum, huh”</p><p>***</p><p>"I can’t understand this, Kondraki, this is idiocy, I thought that he would not be a man! I thought he would not be what it turned out to be! Do you even understand that he chopped me into two pieces!" - the agent hystered in the doctor Kondraki's office, barely restraining herself so as not to scream louder.</p><p>She wasn't prepared for this, and even if she can stop him for a while, she does not have superpower, hyper-endurance to give at least minimal resistance to him. What the idiot was thinking about, sending her there.</p><p>“Calm down, everything went fine, better than I thought,” - he calmly adjusted his glasses and crossed his arms over his chest.</p><p>""Better than I thought"?!" - She tapped her hands on the table, squeezing its edge. - “Tell me, please, what did you think when you sent me there?”</p><p>He looked at Emily with a grin.</p><p>“About who I have to made the same soldier, like you, when you die, and how”</p><p>“I hate you, cretin!”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Friends and allies</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Emily was sent to a psychologist to assess her condition, though it wouldn't change the decision of her superiors, after which she violently and tirelessly studied the charters, hazard codes, all dossiers of objects with which she should work, including objects. This blew up her brain, and some of the objects were not active, but they still told her to learn and remember, so that in which case she could repulse not immortality, but using knowledge and ingenuity.</p><p>She constantly went around with files, papers and instructions in her hands everywhere, even in the dining room and laundry room, so for some reason she was even compared with a student. But after training she wouldn't immediately become a captain, but would be sent to the detachment as an ordinary soldier, after which she would training for promotion within the detachment, performing tasks.</p><p>She exhausted herself like she never had before in any of the assignments, she constantly drank coffee, reported to Kondraki, which is surprising, he personally checked her successes, one followed her and even gave indulgences. Agent didn’t even remember what year, day of the week and day it was... she even confused the month constantly, which caused mistakes in her reports, which, however, she immediately corrected. She tried for the benefit of others, not wanting to suffer so independently. Although, partly by raising her rank, she could improve her life, but this was instantly refuted in her mind. What is an improvement in life? She will be with this monster, and if he can kill her? Will he be able to? She will only let everyone down if it's so... so her motivation became stronger, she began to work more, almost not resting, so that she had enough strength to protect her subordinates, or, for a start, allies.</p><p>After successfully passing all the theory exams, Kondraki allowed the agent to be crammed into the capsule to recover, to restore her immunity and body, after which she was transported, and in such an interesting way, to the SCP-076-2 containment area. And to the SCP-076 himself. She must have been accompanied by a whole detachment, she was wearing a light-impenetrable helmet, her hands were shackled, she could only hear and speak.</p><p>"So what, you're like a super agent now?" - snorted one of the attendants.</p><p>"I wouldn't say "super", rather "special", yes... I will have to study so that I can restrain "Abel"..."

- at that moment, everyone laughed.</p><p>"One agent has already held back him once"</p><p>"You're an idiot? She's not fucking killable, have you ever read the damn report about who we're transporting, bastard?" - said a rough male voice. - "Forgive these savages, they are still new to their business, we really hope that you can cope, Agent "Undying"..."</p><p>“Damn, it’s... what, was it? This woman?! I don't believe my eyes, it was you who made him fall into a stupor when my brother detained him! Thanks to you, my friend is alive! Damn it!"</p><p>After that, everyone fell silent. Did she manage to save at least someone before she started training? Nonsense... but, this was a full-fledged task and she could only fail it, having experienced fear and escaping, but she, realizing her vitality, did not run away from the battlefield, but remained, which stretched the time. Only one decision saved the task force.</p><p>“She is the only one who has this ability and we are lucky to have her on our side, so show your respect, herd of monkeys!" - snorted the same rough voice. - “I’m also the captain, by the way, you should prepare yourself to sweat and die in paper work, but trust me, it’s worth it. Captain of the "Detainment and Transportation Detachment", William Alex, we are always engaged in the transfer of all kinds of things, products, agents and equipment to base 25-b"</p><p>"Glad to meet you, it's a pity, I can't shake my hand," - she laughed a little together with the man, for some reason slightly embarrassed, but this feeling quickly receded.</p><p>“We have a plan to stop in 15 minutes to refuel, so you can talk about something if you feel uncomfortable"</p><p>Emily nodded and was silent for a while, and then decided on a closer connection with this man.</p><p>He found out that he was one of the young captains who were ready for a combat detachment, but in the end a loader - carrier, one of the more adequate people. Only a few became captains, and those who did, could went crazy at any moment, this is not an easy task. He told what one of these captains kill himself about SCP, what he had to guard, because he already tired of everything and his work.</p><p>“You know, I don’t envy you, because you, unlike him, will live in isolation, the maximum that you will be allowed is to go out for a smoke and blindfolded until you earn trust. And I had a very difficult time with it. The last captain didn't even last a week, and the director of the zone? He constantly hides in a bunker inside the zone, fearing that he will be killed, and after all, zero-seven-six have already tried. I won't be surprised if you tell me how this unfortunate man will die, he is such a good person, but already beaten by time and has long been paranoid. He does not even believe the current captain, who has been in the ranks for quite a long time, until the first awakening of "Abel" by itself, he has not yet seen this jerk.</p><p>From such stories, the agent firmly decided that if others could not, she should help, the director and the squad, the captain of the current squad, too, will do everything that depends, this zone depends on her and she understood this, even if no one spoke about it.</p><p>"I am so sorry for these people..."</p><p>"We also risk our lives, so we can fly right to the deterioration of conditions of detention, helping the world. We protect him from what can destroy him, it's a pity that this object is constantly being resurrected, he, like you, unkillable, heh, well, he can be destroyed, of course, but when he wakes up..." - soldier stretched out and sighed, -" this is a riddle, consider that you are living with a slow time bomb, he may woke up in an hour, in ten years, so I think we will have a lot of time to learn from each other," - he laughed and Emily let out a strangled laugh, - "that okay, I don’t think you can’t handle it, everything is in your power"</p><p>“Oh yes, and if this damn Sumerian gets tired of it, he'll start killing soldiers and scientists again"</p><p>"God, how can he get bored with such a chick?"</p><p>“Very clever,” -  agent snorted.</p><p>“Plus, she can't die, she’s an eternal adversary, like a super hero against a super villain, people, who cannot exist without each other, that's all,” - some muttered “aha” in agreement, after which it became quiet again.</p><p>The rest of the time everyone flew quietly, barely audible only the captain was giving instructions to the agent who was joining the new detachment.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. The main persons and the new "family"</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Arriving at the zone, the agent felt a lot of curious looks on herself, no one understood why the woman was in military uniform, why she was in such a place like THIS and, most importantly, if she was a scientist, and women were mostly scientists, why she was in uniform.</p><p>Very few military women could endure everything that happened in the fund, so soon such individuals disappeared from the American branch, no one asked about the other branches.</p><p>Woman felt embarrassed, but she was also a beginner, so that was somewhat fair. Anyone could blame her  in a lack of experience, but, surprisingly, people could look in amazement as much as they wanted, but everyone was too serious to joke jokes and make comments for no reason.</p><p>As it turned out, according to Alex, all people here are like that. They've seen a lot of terrible things and more than Emily herself. Many agents, soldiers, doctors and scientists here, whom she, unfortunately, is unlikely to see due to the fact that they are almost constantly in the bunker, have tremendous experience and themselves are many times older than her. They saw the most dangerous objects, were in the hottest spots on missions, but they will never behave like idiots, rather, on the contrary, everyone will cherish a new member of the squad, since she is the only one who can do at least something for this zone to they didn't all die.</p><p>Man helped her to move all her belongings to the living compartment and personally led the girl to the zone director, who, like a queen of ants, was hiding in the most secluded part of the zone. The man was thin, weak-looking and extremely exhausted. But he happily met Agent Emily, already knowing everything about her.</p><p>"Sorry for the excessive enthusiasm, but when they told me that they found the best solution to all our problems at the moment, I thought that I would go completely crazy, I'm so glad! Our captain is still too young and inexperienced, but hopefully this won't be a problem? And, you, too, are still new in such serious matters..." - he swallowed and got up from the table, running up to the girl and making the agents grin at each other, - "I apologize, I am the director of this zone, Jeremy, call me by name, since, nevertheless, I cannot disclose all the data about myself, I hope you will understand"</p><p>“Emily, it's just Emily, I don't have a last name,” - she shook hands with direcrtor and was surprised at how cold she was.</p><p>"How glad I am to see you, young lady, don't look at my condition, I just haven't communicated with people for so long, usually I just meet new members of the project, that's why I say little. Well," - he went to the table, - "I suppose I should give you a pass, a certificate that we have already done... don't be surprised, the main thing in our work is speed, and please!"</p><p>Emily took the pass from the Jeremy's's hands, of course, not for anywhere in zone, so far it was a pass of an ordinary member of the squad, a personal access card to the living compartment, which still had to be activated (everything was extremely serious here, even the password now needs to be entered with a card and a fingerprint).</p><p>"I also ask you to immediately go to the barracks of our zone so that the Captain and his squad... well, get to know you. I think you should give time to adapt, but we always have little time, so I advise you not to delay and learn everything in a day. I don't even advise, now this is an order, a day to adapt to a new place, agent, no more, at any time we may need your help"</p><p>Only now she saw the man's look: in fact, he is forty years old, but he looks like he is already 50; half gray, but the hair was black; brown eyes, slightly darkened from fatigue, sunken; the cheeks are also sunken and the cheekbones stick out more than necessary; his bony hands tremble a little, but despite this state he is very friendly, more than any other fund directors. Most likely due to despair, he has no choice, but it is necessary to keep people here.</p><p>"Yes sir!" - Emily answered with a smile and nodded.</p><p>"Free... you both, see her off, Alex," - he said seriously and sat down again at the papers, this time about a new member of their "family".</p><p>The agents left his office. Emily was silent for a long time and did not dare to ask what had just happened.</p><p>"Forget it, he is one of those who can barely hold on, he alone drags everyone on him, of course, and our squad too. Not all directors treat people with such an understanding, I think you yourself noticed this, judging by your reaction," - for a second the man stopped, thinking, and turned in the other direction, - "sorry, now we are going to the elevator, since the barracks are not on this floor. I already forgot that elevator was installed," - Emily shrugged her shoulders and began to look at the walls and decoration of the zone out of boredom.</p><p>Outwardly, everything looked as if no one had tried to make a cozy renovation here, which is not surprising. If Abel suddenly blows up this zone, it will be a pity for the money spent on everything. All around there is metal, walls and doors are terribly strong and thick, therefore they cannot be opened manually, hence the access cards. Despite the fact that everything around is made of metal, it was not rusty and old in appearance, everything was well looked after. This branch looked like a bunker, without any pretentious elements, like in other zones, there was warmth inside, no noise, there were cameras everywhere, built into the walls and protected with a layer of transparent material so that they were not immediately destroyed. There were speakers and lamps on every corner, in case of a containment breach ... just like the last time in the training, but then she saw nothing but one small area with corridors.</p><p>"You know, before we were constantly running up the stairs, but since this wasted time, they put a lot of elevators for us," - they left a long corridor to another heavy door and the man let the girl out to the elevators.</p><p>She had already seen such and noticed for herself that they were made with the expectation that they would try to open them, because they have double, or even triple, doors. There are no ropes, instead of them there is a solid mechanism that will prevent the elevator from falling, plus emergency exits.</p><p>The zone looked like it was a privilege to survive here, every door and wall spoke for this place.</p><p>Going downstairs, she noticed that this elevator is much faster than the others, and it really saves time, and the man was silent, not knowing what else to say, until they left on the floor.</p><p>"I must say right away that this guy has special sense of humor, but he has no prejudices, he may want to test you, so if this happens, you can demonstrate your skills without fear. Also, the whole squad is more decent than mine, so..." - he grinned, - "so you can't worry, no one reproaches you for not knowing anything, in any case, you are here to learn"</p><p>Emily glanced at her companion and looked away, embarrassed.</p><p>'Yes, I feel that I will be the most silent here... but how often will you visit this place?" - the agent became attached to the only most familiar person and was afraid that she would be out of place here.</p><p>"It depends on the situation, if supplies are needed, a rescue mission, we are right there, the rest of the time we are on duty at the station, so as not to miss the signal, but don't worry," - the man put his hand on her shoulder and patted him slightly, forcing the girl to look up at her new friend, - "you will calmly get used to it, I believe in you, nevertheless, you are our local hero"</p><p>This brown-haired man made the girl believe in her strength, despite the unpleasant stories that he told her, she was grateful to the man at least for that.</p><p>"Not a hero... yet..." - when they moved to the huge gate, they saw a huge, seemingly stadium, in the distance of which they could see the barracks.</p><p>True, the word "barracks" is not particularly suitable for a place where training equipment and various combat uniforms are kept. It looked more like a warehouse, and the stadium itself was not a stadium at all, since there were no spectator seats, a huge area with an obstacle course, a running field, exercise equipment, everything that could be needed. This place was a delight for the soldiers who were bored of waiting for years or even decades for the resurrection of the object.</p><p>As soon as he saw new people, captain, who turned out to be very strict, but despite this  he was soft, the young man, gathered a detachment, which consisted of thirty people, and this was the main composition, assembled more recently and he was still planning to replenish.</p><p>The main composition is precisely those people who are well acquainted with the object, collided with it, stopped it, or simply very good and intelligent soldiers who could fight it back, there are not many of them, the rest of the military is the protection of the zone from unforeseen circumstances and employees who could go crazy. This was not uncommon in Zone 25, and once one of the doctors, who had his own weapon, shot himself and before that ran into his friend's office and threatened him. Many people can't stand this stress.</p><p>Emily and Alex came out to the formation of soldiers, and her escort immediately shook hands with the current captain of the detachment, smiling.</p><p>"So what is it, they have already found a replacement for me? And I haven't gotten used to it yet!" - the current captain did not look very young.</p><p>A middle-aged man, blond, quite tall and muscular, which is not surprising. Emily was short by comparison.</p><p>“Alexander Matthews,” - he held out his hand to the girl and shook her, - “don't pay attention to my last name, it often looks like a twice name"</p><p>He put his hands on his waist and gazed at the agent survivingly.</p><p>“Oh yeah, Special Agent Emily, nice to meet you, Captain," - she smiled faintly and he nodded.</p><p>"So you are the regenerator, about which I was informed and it was your case, that I read, not bad! If you had appeared with us earlier, I think we would have saved on lives, but now isn't about that. I will give you a little excursion and give you the documents you must read," - he noticed the agent's tired look and added, - "I know, you have already prepared, but understand, there are things that were not in the instructions from the doctor, there are many important aspects," - the man gestured for girl to follow him, - "and you, the squad, are free. Sentinels - to their places!"</p><p>Matthews led Emily across the entire training field to the barracks, which had a harder access, which, so far, Emily did not understand. As soon as they entered, the girl immediately noticed samples of unusual armor, which she had not seen before, behind the glass. It was unusual in appearance, but she could not tell why, but her surprise was noticeable with the naked eye.</p><p>"Like? Our work is too risky, therefore the protection should be as good as possible, but this armor is not so necessary for you, plus in it you will not be able to move as fast as usual out of habit. It's always like this, for the first time," - explained captain, walking around the girl, - "the barracks themselves are perfectly protected, the metal from which they are made was updated after the last attack of the object so as not to allow it to destroy weapons and armor instantly. Speaking of weapons..." - he walked away from the armor and went to a closed wall with a weapon, unlocking it and opening girl a view of a new weapon for her, more precisely, it looked ordinary, but a little changed. Apparently, because of the new charges they used, -" we have machine guns, pistols, shotguns, rifles, even sniper rifles just in case. The melee weapon is almost useless for the squad, but we got something for you ," - he opened some case with an unpacked machete, at least it looked like a machete, but the metal was different, according to the captain so sharp that a single light touch of the blade can cut through thin layers of skin and tissue.</p><p>"Indeed, the very good thing for me, if Abel gets closer!" - the captain raised his eyebrows and grinned.</p><p>"You call THIS by name? You know, I have not seen him, but according to the stories, I don’t think that it is worth giving him such privileges," - just the thought of humanizing such a cruel monster gave man a cringe, he could not even think that soon this monster would be used in the missions of the foundation but the agent knew and was silent.</p><p>Especially when she knew that the director was aware of this, and the captains would take it with hostility.</p><p>"I saw him and I will say this: it may be a monster, but his thoughts, his actions suggest that there is something human in him. And this is not romanticization, this is a fact, - she said confidently, closing the case, - "captain," - she sighed heavily, not seeing the confidence of Alexander in her words, - "there is no need to argue about this when we both have the same mission, sir, we'd better deal with the documents what you wanted to give me, and later I would start training and communicating with the squad while we have time"</p><p>Captain, with slight suspicion, but gave the girl the papers, helped activate her access system to the living compartment and introduced the plan of the zone, which looked like a maze. As he said, "at first everything is unfamiliar here", but if you serve for a year or two, you will get used to something else.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Luck?</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>All the soldiers stood in an even formation, today one of them will be selected for one of the Foundation's experiments. It is strange that they decided to carry out this action in this way, what did they not like the choice according to the dossier? Isn't it easier to read everything about the soldier and choose based on the characteristics that are shown?</p>
<p>Emily was also present there, but she prayed to all the Gods that, as always, her person would be in the shadows and her work would not grow into something worse. Enough incident with violation of conditions of detention "reptile", where she happened to be.</p>
<p>The girl shuddered from the memories and she closed her eyes for a second to put her thoughts in order.</p>
<p>"You," - someone's voice abruptly brought out of a trance, it seemed even familiar.</p>
<p>"And?" - soldier shuddered and sharply opened her eyes when she saw one of the Foundation's doctors in front of her.</p>
<p>And judging by the way he was guarded, he was not a simple doctor, but a higher-ranking one. Is this experiment really something serious?</p>
<p>"And? I said that you would come, I ask you to follow me, if, of course, you have no objections," - he crossed his arms, expecting action from the girl, who for some reason, with all her desire not to go, did step out of order, automatically subscribing myself to something that she had no idea about.</p>
<p>"Great, I am very glad that you agreed to help us. Our Foundation," - he corrected himself, - "now I ask to follow  me, and the rest people can be free"</p>
<p>
  <em> "They only need one person?" - Mentally surprised Emily and shrugged her shoulders, trudging after the doctor, trying not to show excitement and fear. - "And why, I wonder, he addressed me on "you", I see him for the first time..."</em>
</p>
<p><br/>***</p>
<p><br/>"We will conduct an experiment under anesthesia, it will be quite strong, so you will sleep for a long time. The purpose of the experiment, perhaps, will remain a secret, I can only say that this is a rather important decision from you, and the experiment is very serious and important"</p>
<p>Emily listened to Dr. Kondraki's speech, how he introduced himself, and then saw in front of her a waiver of all claims.</p>
<p>“Sign this, you yourself understand that nothing cannot happend without it,” - he crossed his arms over his chest and looked expectantly at the soldier.She read everything, realizing that after that she could die, get hurt, become a cripple and in general anything can happen, but she decided to take a risk at least once in her life, anyway, in this fund every day with a probability of 50-50, or you survive or you die. At least she was always lucky, why shouldn't she now? <br/><br/><em>She took up a pen and signed her signature with a trembling hand.</em></p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. The first loss</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>"If there is a herd there will be a herdsman,<br/>If there is a body there will be a spirit,<br/>If there is a step there will be a footprint,<br/>If there is darkness there will be light"</p><p>Kinó - Song without words ©</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Along with the documents, Emily obtained camera footage to study the subject's behavior. There were also records of interrogations, a description of his behavior...</p><p>As if she had not seen all this, however, yes, these were not the documents that Kondraki gave her, everything was different in them, as if someone had supplemented them. And then she remembered that she had read something about the Agent, whose name was hidden, as well as the serial number.</p><p>He is the only one who was able to somehow smooth out relationships with the object for this long time, perhaps he worked here and made all the edits, in which case she was grateful to him for this and wanted, surprisingly, to learn more about this agent.</p><p>She have only a day to know the squad and read all papers, which, in principle, was doable, because this time there were fewer papers. But she decided to start simple, just talk to the squad.</p><p>Everyone was a little shocked when girl returned to squad and literally begged at least something from them. The only thing that she remembered the piece of the little, that they told her, was the ordinal names and who came from where. And there was one person in this squad... who saw SCP-076 and didn't die... he is the only one who survived from the squad on the day of the attack and was the most interesting member of the squad for her. But just as intractable and nervous. Mike, as he was called, was very withdrawn after that incident.</p><p>Therefore, girl didn't bother him and only wished everyone good night, going to the residential block, to study something new.</p><p>For some reason, she became so interested in studying this object. He was scary, elusive, sudden, and that aroused interest in himself, and the fact that it was impossible to come to an agreement with him. She should have known everything about him, maybe out of curiosity, or maybe because she had to read him like an open book in order to win at least once.</p><p>First of all, she sat down for the video of the interrogation, where she again saw a man who, this time was so clearly visible.</p><p>Sharp, ardent in conversation, sullen and rude to everyone he meets, and also strangely familiar, like Dr. Kondraki...</p><p>Strange, this is the second time.</p><p>She watched his behavior while learning that he really despises everyone and all who couldn't prove their usefulness. He felt so uncomfortable when people talked to him, as if he was about to vomit, as when he first spoke to her on the battlefield.</p><p>His voice was low, deep, quiet when he was calm, but frightening and sonorous when he shouted, through the helmet she didn't have time to notice it.</p><p>He reacted so calmly to women, men, children, everything was simple for him - trash, little creatures, disgusting. Maybe she was wrong, maybe he wasn't so humanly, because the captain was surprised by her words?</p><p>Then she watched the horrific destruction of Zone 25 personnel. The entire zone was covered in blood and entrails, there were corpses everywhere, but that same Mike was able to prevent the director's murder, and this was the most important, perhaps at that moment object call her ally isn't "human" but <em>"soldier"</em>. From this, Mike himself almost lost his knack, however, he worked quickly and was able to blow up the object, after which Abel safely crumbled to dust.</p><p>Interesting. It was interesting. Mike not only stopped him, but was able to stay sane and even use a couple of zone tricks to lure him into a safe area for himself, and then he was able to get so close to the object that he shoved a bomb into his open chest, god he was a master, and Emily will have to learn from him.</p><p>Documents about SCP-076 have also been updated as if specifically for her. Everywhere there were notes that <em>"Abel doesn't like fear and cowardice"</em>, that he can communicate with people if he wants to, and coercion is not the best way of mutual respect. This Agent called him by his first name, he never wrote "it", "object" or "SCP-076" on his own. He also wrote that <em>"Abel knows a lot about religion, in particular about Christianity | Catholicism"</em> and, most importantly, he doesn't control himself if he feels "anger". This, apparently, was the last stage of his atrocity, since even with her he was not in a state of anger. It is scary to imagine what he can do if he enters this meditative state and starts a madness in the zone.</p><p>All these facts made the girl think <em>"what if just try to talk, if it'll possible"</em>. What will happen if one day she doesn't shoot him, call for help, run at him with the intention of killing him? Yes, this is stupid, of course, but maybe this is what she needs to try to do.</p><p>She wrote this thought down on a piece of paper nearby and left the documents, starting to read the evidence for the destruction of the object.</p><p><br/>
***</p><p>The first steps in this zone were not easy for the agent. Everyone's attitude towards everyone was serious, she never heard jokes, except during the shower and changing the guard. As for the shower, they could not give it a separate one, but praise to everything that created life on earth, the soldiers were decent and understanding. <br/>
At first, Emily thought everything was too complicated, she even got confused in the corridors, sometimes forgot the names of the doctors.</p><p>But, she soon got used to the shower, and to the fact that they slept for 6 hours maximum, and to the fact that the director taught her to handle the documentation correctly, as she might need it in the future. The captain gave her more personal time for self-study and sometimes sacrificed his time to help her, and the second captain... Alex, she learned how to use his name. He visited the zone so rarely, but for her these appearances were a holiday.</p><p>The kindest, sympathetic and understanding of all, not stupid and strong, he told her everything that he had experienced himself, so that the girl knew what she was preparing for. Thanks to him, she began to learn self-discipline, although sometimes he could afford a couple of immodest jokes about Alexander, who only grinned and dismissed them.</p><p><em>"This guy is not bad, don't look at such strictness, nevertheless, he is a leader, so stick with him. He will teach you everything, and I... what am I, I am constantly hanging on the take-off base, what can I for you to do? "</em> - these words got stuck in the agent's head.</p><p>She didn't consider herself a worthy soldier, her thoughts were always far from such serious missions and deeds, it was difficult for her to concentrate on her mission, as the director said.</p><p><em>"Hot head, young blood, one day she should get into the most stark situation and then she will understand what life is like in this zone. Yes, she might go a little crazy, but aren't we all like this?"</em> - this is what Alexander conveyed to her when they communicated with the Director.</p><p>The captain himself didn't say anything to the girl, didn't give hope and didn't praise more than the others. He could both curse and hasten in laziness, although she did everything she could, but this only tempered her character. Slowly but surely, she began to bring her body into shape, learn to handle all the weapons that were at the base and with new developments. She had to learn how to fly a helicopter with Alex, and fight the captain in a fair fight, losing over and over again due to lack of stamina.<br/>
<br/>
He literally didn't give her rest and every time during the rest he chatted with her about what she remembers from what she taught. Sometimes he commented on her words and laughed, or he became serious and the girl immediately understood that she had to be on guard with this or that object. He also talked a lot about a project that the director and O5 had just begun planning.</p><p>As she understood, it was connected precisely with those objects about which she read and, perhaps, in the future their boring weekdays will be diluted with missions, but... how? What nonsense missions you have when you guard Keter?!</p><p>"And what should one lonely cube do, in which a walking surprise sits?" - she said skeptically, picking up jokes from Alex's new friend.</p><p>"Hah, it's funny, I thought about it too, but we'd better not discuss what it's too early to even think about, and now," - he got up from the bench, - "let's do a dozen more laps, huh?"</p><p>Emily groaned, but accepted the bottle of water from the captain's hands and started a new race.</p><p>Alexander gave her incredible loads, knowing about the immortality of the agent, which again and again forced her to step over herself, it becomes better to be able to give at least some rebuff, and not what happened the last time. That day for her was both a triumph and a shame, and something... strange.</p><p>The object's gaze at her then made something jump in her chest. It was a lucid gaze that appeared so suddenly on the battlefield when he was in a combat trance. As if she could awaken the seventy-sixth from this state. Or she was able to greatly surprise the man. Yes, of course, she thought he was crazy, a monster, but... something inside her kept repeating:</p><p>
  <em>"You saw only one side of him, maybe everything isn't so, you were told not to believe what you see as soon as you appeared in the army, don't be a fool, remember this strange Agent..."</em>
</p><p>And she tried not to be a fool. All the time when she studied the archives, the Sumerian manners, his attacks and attitude towards people. It hurt and disgusted her to see the records of what he was doing in the fund, but she tried to see at least something.</p><p>Almost every week she received a letter from Kondraki, the answers to which amazed him. So much optimism that he didn’t dare to dream about it. She constantly says that, although it is boring, it is pleasant to be in the zone for now, and the captain is very good, it does not matter whether he encountered an object or not. But it was true, this captain was chosen on the recommendation of Kondraki. She hasn't met Abel yet, has she? Of course, no. He hoped that even if this did happen she would be able to withstand everything and would become a captain in the future.</p><p>Despite the double optimism of his agent, he noticed that she was already becoming more sociable, strong, persistent, she said that she had learned to shoot better and, perhaps, she would be allowed to try shooting from special weapons that weren't yet available for her due to her rank. Captain Alexander also praised Emily. All was better, than he thought. Emily felt better in this area than she ever had in the Foundation. Even the team began to communicate with her a little more, besides Mike himself, he was still a little afraid of her, but alread greeted her everyday, at least something.</p><p>And time still flew so fast that soon she already remembered everyone who worked in the zone, all the soldiers, the entire map of Zone 25, and could walk along it already intuitively looking for a way. Alex surrendered under her pressure and allowed himself small kisses and hugs with the agent, which earned respect among his squad, but no more. He increasingly put Emily in her place and said that sooner or later the object would violate the conditions of containment and she would have to be more serious and vigilant. And the strength that she received during this time is not enough, it is only one hundredth of the strength of the bastard, whom she will have to stop. She brushed it off, loosened up and forgot her bad thoughts again in his arms.<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>***<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>Emily got up in the morning with the squad in order to receive supplies of some new shells, this doesn't happen so often and she finds one of the most interesting moments in the life of the containment squad.</p><p>They loved new <em>"things"</em> from the scientists of the foundation. They loved testing the most, it was kind of like a toy for the adult military, and yes, it was perfectly logical. Normal human interest, especially when you are constantly busy with a routine.</p><p>The most amazing thing is that recently Kondraki was very actively interested in the agent in the zone and in the fact that she could, if there was a reason, lead a new squad. Old man was up to something and it was obvious, lest this project came out of the way for Emily.</p><p>She rememvered Alexander's old words about something new in their zone.</p><p>A helicopter was already noisy on the helipad, loaders were bringing in sealed steel boxes with shells. The guards protected the helicopter and the entrance near the entrance to the zone was a detachment and was on duty. The sentries sat at their posts, monitoring the activity of the object; it wasn't uncommon for it to wake up at such inconvenient moments.</p><p>When Alex appeared on the horizon, Emily perked up and began to whine to the captain almost in the ear that she should greet her "friend", that she was bored and hardly saw him. And for a long time, too often, girl was noticed for correspondencing with an agent and not rare calls. Yet they are on opposite sides of the routine.</p><p>"Lord, go already, but the alarm will go off, you should be here in a second!" - Alexander muttered displeasedly and took her place.</p><p>"Thank you, sir!" - rattled girl and ran towards Williams.</p><p>She did not slow down as she approached him and ran into the man with a hug, but he, having a good reaction, caught her.</p><p>"Finally! I thought that you are now "on the clock", I thought that today..." - he smiled at her and stroked the girl's red hair, - "but, anyway, let's not think about it"</p><p>A smile didn't leave his face even in such unpleasant moments, it was a hallmark of the agent. He took everything with a smile, tried to be positive despite his experience. Sometimes laughter helped protect the psyche, as he said.</p><p>"Come on, you can always stay for a short time, maybe fifteen minutes or..."</p><p>"And if something happens? Our time is the most valuable, you understand. We live in a difficult place and work at a serious job, mistakes are unacceptable..." - he noticed girl's sad face and sighed, - "I'm sorry, I didn't want to be a bore, but... actually"</p><p>"Actually, kiss already, you are running out of time, and you have already got it, Alex, I thought you were the captain!" - Alexander snorted.</p><p>He knew from the very beginning that it would be so, but he did not think that it would benefit both of them. Love blinds the eyes and interferes with work, and in their instance one must constantly be on the lookout and keep an ear.</p><p>"Okay! Since you ask," - he looked at the agent and let her go from his embrace, - "will we dilute their boring everyday life?"</p><p>Agent was red as a tomato and without having time to say a word she was involved in a kiss, not long, but very soft and sensual, and, as it turned out, the last one for captain.</p><p>Everything was so sudden, fast, as if in a few seconds a sword passed through them together and Emily opened her eyes, she remembered this sensation and didn't want to feel it again, most of all she wanted it to be a dream.</p><p>But looking up at Alex, she saw a faint smile on his face and a sad look, slowly dimming, and then screams, signaling, and now the captain is already in her arms and a dull laugh was heard from behind.</p><p>"Still not experienced, not attentive, subject to its emotions... you will have to study for a long time, creature," - said the object and let go of the sword, leaving the agent with her admirer for a couple of moments so that both would realize what happened, - "fight until your pain, for honor," - he has changed - "although I don't see it in you!"<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>Emily couldn't believe that everything happened just like that, just for a second, no one had time to warn her, Alex died... he died without even saying a word to her goodbye, and she believed him. There was a lump in her throat, and if she was bolder then, now she felt bad, and not from the sight of the blood gushing from her man, but from her real helplessness.</p><p>She didn't save HIM. Useless.</p><p>She didn't remember anything from what she was doing, but everyone said, including Alexander, that Abel was tearing girl apart, while she kicked out all the staff, leaving only her captain and the squad. She blocked all the exits, although it was almost useless, and fired at Abel, dodging blows, sometimes unsuccessfully, with all the firearms that were. Abel destroyed half of the supply, thereby hurting himself, since these were acid shells. However, when he became helpless, Emily didn't finish him off immediately, but with horror noticed that he was still alive. Thats was only what she was doing. Weird and crazy.</p><p>"It's bad, creature, if I were in a combat trance, everyone would have died, you were lucky," - he croaked, - "it wasn't even fight, but I was condescending out of interest in your abilities, but from this moment you are my target, and if you can't handle me, I'll kill everyone... and not just your beloved poor creature number 2," - after these words, Emily didn't finish him off, didn't say anything, because she couldn't think then, she just left and huddled in a corner with her head on her knees, and the squad that helped her was shocked and happy at the same time.</p><p>It could have been much worse. It was big traur for everyone, but he was a hero. </p><p>Although the supply was half destroyed, it worked as it should, except that its projectiles were too effective against the metal floor of the zone. Therefore, it was decided to use them as a last resort.</p><p>Ordinary soldiers couldn't put in order Emily, but Alexander was able to pull her out into the zone and slap her in the face, then brought her to the doctor in the medical compartment. He give her his best help and noticed that the girl was all cold, when he learned the details of the events that had occurred while he was in the bunker himself, he shook his head.</p><p>“She’s a woman, with all due respect, for her it’s more stress than a man’s, you are lucky that her body began to act in defense of herself and those around her, otherwise... you would have had big problems. Fortunately, captain, I can assure you, after such nightmare these things usually don't happen, but it all depends on the will of the person, let's hope for the agent and that she will soon come to her senses," - he examined her again and she began to show signs of awakening, - "well, you see, it's almost with us"</p><p>"This is the reason why I tried to keep Alex on. Any leverage, as the bastard said, could lead to disaster on the battlefield. Feelings are unacceptable, hopes, dreams about the future... this is complete nonsense, when you constantly live as if on a bomb, you should only think about the present"</p><p>Doctor chuckled:</p><p>"But we still have families, many of us, we got them already working here and yes, it's hard to lose loved ones, but on the other hand, they help us not to die of stress... since you were able to resist Abel first time, look after her as captain and as a friend of Williams, you were friends"</p><p>The man's face twisted in displeasure, he did not like burdens, especially those that should be able to defend themselves, resist the enemy. How many years will he have to teach her like that? How much more loss and pain does she have to feel to become whoever she needs?</p><p>"Let's see what I can do..."</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>That was too fast, but but only because the main plot has to start faster<br/>Regardless, I must describe what happened to the OC before she became what she became<br/>Hope it's not too much<br/>Plus, the whole main plot will sometimes be diluted with small parts with separate moments of the characters' lives.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. From the beginning</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>After the horrific death of the captain of the Transport squad and several other personnel who simply fell into the hands of the object, the captain of the main squad decided that he would now tightly control the agent.</p><p>He will not allow her to start such a close relationship anymore, maximum friends and then with the team. Alexander himself was in shock, he experienced a terrible tragedy and expected more from himself.</p><p>His squad and he, of course, helped and fired at the object, they finished it off in a sense, but Alexander felt horror crawling into his bones, when he saw how Agent Emily was pierced through by SCP-076, how she regenerates and how his friend dies. It was on this day that so many coincidences occurred. Failure of the warning system, Abel found them almost immediately and acted directed, as if he knew where his "target" was, this was not normal behavior. He saw Abel in action for the first time, live for the first time, and this made his legs buckle in place, but didn't make him lose his knack.</p><p>If he could horrify him, he couldn't imagine how Emily felt.</p><p>However, even this didn't make the man soften, because after the girl went and, surprisingly, she was able to calmly communicate with people, didn't remain silent like a madman and asked not to behave with her like a child.</p><p>She was in pain, yes, but there was no point in putting on a show.</p><p>The only thing that happened to her when the captain entered her room - was crying. She looked at him, looked away and covered her with her hands, trying not to show her weakness after something like that happened.</p><p>“Don't hide your face, soldier,” - he commanded and sat down on a chair next to the bed, - “there were worse things in my service, and you were on violation of the conditions of keeping a Reptile. Here everyone dies, all the time, and you, whoever you are, were distracted the bastard, so at least a minimum of people died and a minimum of destruction occurred. Whatever happened, you coped with just your presence, but you shouldn't remove his threat from the mind..."</p><p>“I didn't save him,” - she said quietly.<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>"And you couldn't, we had a failure in the notification system, which was repaired while you were sleeping. Everything is already being restored, cleansed, and the people who died have been replaced. Understand already, you cannot get attached to someone, unless, of course, he is immortal, like you," - he would like to grin, but he knew that he didn't know how to joke and that would be out of place.</p><p>Captain took the agent's hand and was now extremely serious.</p><p>"He died in the arms of a human who loves him, this is the best that could have happened, and now, you will stop thinking about these sentiments. You must hate the seventy-sixth, use hate against him. Sometimes it’s wrong, but in his case, it’s a necessity. You must become a person who is ready to protect, but also ready to take losses. You must not lose yourself to death"</p><p>Emily dropped her hands and nodded in response.</p><p>"Anything, this time I screwed up, I'm ready to study further, maybe tomorrow he will appear and again want to kill everyone, I must be on the alert"</p><p>The captain sighed and said the last phrase that had been hammered into the agent's memory:</p><p>"You can never save everyone..."</p><p>The man left the room and left the girl alone.</p><p>He was right, they are MTF soldiers, and not an ordinary rabble, it's a shame to behave so carelessly, and this day... he robbed her of peace, before that she knew that Kondraki would give her a help, if she didn't cope with Abel, and the object itself was already calmer by her arrival, and now... she is here and she alone is in the priority of this reptile, she is the person on whom the outcome of the resurrection of Abel depends. Therefore, she must watch and wait, learn, develop faster, so that something like this doesn't happen again and already with someone else. She needs to let go of the thoughts of Alex, they only began to draw closer, and this closeness served her as a lesson for the rest of her immortal life.</p><p>***<br/>
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</p><p>Meanwhile, Kondraki found out all about the incident and was thinking about who would replace the captain of the transport squad. He had few good fighters, to be more precise, few people in their branch wanted and could bear the burden of the captain, but temporarily he knew who could be sent there.</p><p>Recently, he received a Russian, he is often thrown back and forth to the branches, since he, although a valuable fighter, is reckless to the point. It was risky, but Dmitry would have held out for a couple of years until a replacement was found.</p><p>Strelnikov was Russian, he was transferred from the Soviet army to a branch of the SCP Foundation a long time ago and he is even allowed to remain young so that he can serve longer, but which doctor and for what merits he does it... but it didn't matter, what matters is that he knows how to drive a helicopter on duty, is good with weapons and is ready for any sudden fight, he is a very experienced soldier of the fund and, moreover, has long wanted to become a captain, why not give him a temporary position? Maybe he will show himself well.</p><p>People told Kondraki that he was crazy, since he took such an unbalanced into an important squad, but he believed that Strelnikov had the potential for realization and since he really wanted to become someone, that he learned English (albeit not perfect) he could just transport thing from point A to point B.</p><p>Therefore, doctor immediately sat down to write a letter to the commander of the unit where the Russian was, so that he would give the go-ahead and, not surprise, they wanted to get rid of the Russian, because he took the teachings too seriously and staged a pogrom in the zone. The director also agreed to the transfer of an unequal employee, and Dmitry himself was surprised at such an increase, and that he would work in such a hot spot.<br/>
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</p><p>"I consent to the transfer of employee D. A. Strelnikov to the Transportation squad of Zone 25, under the leadership of the director [CLASSIFIED],</p><p>P.S.: don't let him come into contact with the combat equipment that will be supplied to the zone, under no circumstances, doctor!</p><p>Sincerely yours,<br/>
[CLASSIFIED]"</p><p>Well, doctor was pleased that he was able to find a way out of the situation so quickly, but at the same time, he began to select a new captain from the best fighters in his zone that he knew. He wanted to conclude a contract with one of them for a transfer in about two or three years, when the soldier has achieved some success and is sufficiently ready to work with such a dangerous zone.</p>
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